Reading the Sky
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. — Kierkegaard
The past couple of weeks the area around my apartment has been claimed by a rather large crow. The bird acts as a sentinel against the neighbors’ awful free-ranging cats. It caws furiously at the cats. If you let your cat roam around outside, please stop it immediately. It is estimated that house cats indiscriminately kill over two billion wild birds each year. Think of the scale of that slaughter. Three of my neighbors let their cats roam free all day long. I chase them off whenever I see them stalking the birds. The crow and I have this connection now. When it calls, I rush to the window to stop the prowling cats. The nature outside my window is a source of great inspiration to me. And, for me, the songs and flights of birds across the sky has always been auspicious.
We all seek guidance in life. Perhaps you turn to a family member, friend, spiritual guide to help you make good choices put your feet on the right paths. Human culture is filled with tales of divine messengers from on high, and in the vast majority of stories, the messenger appears during times of solitude. Ancient people often observed birds to interpret omens. In ancient Rome, such a person was known as an augur. And the interpretation was known as taking the auspices. Auspices literally means he who looks at birds. Seeking prophetic sings in nature is fundamental to the human spirit.
I’ve always looked to the sky for signs and inspiration. I love the gradient of blues from the lightest pale turquoise through cerulean, cobalt, lapis, azure up to the dark navy blue high up in the vault of the sky. When I am alone on the beach with just the birds, I look at the myriad of blues painted along the curving edges of space and call on nature to give me a sign as to my direction. The practice of Aeromancy (divination by interpreting atmospheric conditions) is perhaps the oldest method for divining the potential futures. Just like the shades of blue above me, there are a myriad of possible paths before me. The goal of reading the sky is to narrow the countless choices.
Our subconscious minds come to the fore when we interact with nature. This visceral gut feeling is the legacy of our most ancient ancestors. The calmness we experience in nature is akin to returning home. We are the long lost cousins to all life around us. Walking at sea level, I have an unobstructed view of the heavens and the ocean. And for a half mile or more, there are no other people — only birds. There, in the secluded timeless moments, I read the sky and feel the future waiting to unfold. My heart reconnects to the infinite serenity underlying all things, and my soul seeks out the forecasting echoes of what waits up ahead.
The weight of existence can be too much to bear alone. We all go through times of uncertainty. But the passage through adversity appears when one becomes mindful of self-imposed limitations. Pressing too hard only creates more resistance. Holding on to selfish ambitions constructs insurmountable barriers to manifesting a truly transcendent future. Set aside egotistical wants and desires, and, just as the wind blows and the tides roll, the path to your utmost future will open. Visit your ancestral home in nature, read the sky and change your future.
